Additional Resources

UTSA Dining Makes Healthy Eating on Campus Easy

UTSA Dining makes eating on campus easy—and that includes finding healthy options to suit a wide range of lifestyles and tastes. For individuals with dietary restrictions or if you’re just looking for healthier choices, UTSA Dining provides great options at the Roadrunner Café and on-campus national brands, including Subway, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and more. Through nutritional programs such as “Healthy for Life” and “Fit Picks” and through partnerships with Por Vida and the American Heart Association, UTSA Dining helps you identify healthy choices.

Healthy for Life, a program offered at the Roadrunner Café, provides nutritional information for pre-made food, allowing you to understand exactly what you’re eating. Easy-to-use icons appear at each dining station, identifying options that are low calorie, low sodium, low fat, vegetarian, vegan, made with whole grains, and other applicable options. Icons are also found on the UTSA Dining website, the Campusdish mobile app, and the interactive wellness screen in the Roadrunner Café. By using the touch screen at the entrance to the Roadrunner Cafe, you can learn how to make healthy selections both on and off campus. A full list of nutritional categories and identifying icons is available online.

National brand restaurants on campus offer great healthy selections as well. Mooyah has a delicious black bean burger for vegetarians, a turkey burger for a leaner option, and a lettuce wrap if you’re looking to stay gluten-free or low-carb. Chick-fil-A offers grilled chicken sandwiches and the Market Salad, while Subway—a great place to load up on vegetables and whole grain bread—provides Fresh Fit choices. If you want a sit-down experience at a restaurant, Chili’s Too has a fantastic selection of lunch combos, pairing Chili’s favorites with a soup or salad. You can enjoy the cozy interior or spend time with friends on the lit outdoor patio for evening dining. If you’re looking for nutritional information, it can be found online through individual companies’ websites.

The John Peace Library (JPL) food court recently opened an exciting new venue: Greens to Go. With more than 10,800 customizable combinations of hand-crafted, made-to-order salads and wraps, Greens to Go is a deliciously healthy alternative for you. Sushic, a favorite in the JPL, is now on full display in the center of the food court: you can enjoy watching the sushi chefs prepare your food while you wait.

If you are unsure which items at a given location are healthier options, nearly all locations include items identified as Fit Picks (excluding Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Taco Taco Café). Fit Picks are an easy way for you to make a quick selection and know you’re getting a healthier option from the menu. Through the use of Fit Picks, UTSA Dining hopes to educate you on how to select items from a menu board, a skill that can be used both on and off campus.

Additionally, the Roadrunner Café partners with Por Vida, a San Antonio program aimed at identifying healthier choices that fall under the guidelines listed on the Por Vida website. UTSA Dining educates you on Por Vida by including the Por Vida logo next to approved menu items. Another excellent resource for you is MyFitnessPal, a mobile app that allows users to input lifestyle goals and track food intake. All campus dining locations, except locally owned Taco Taco Café, are on MyFitnessPal.

Looking to the future, Aramark—the contracted vendor that provides food service through UTSA Dining and Campus Services—partners with the American Heart Association for the 20 by 20 Initiative: by 2020, the Roadrunner Café will increase fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and decrease calories, saturated fats, and sodium by 20%.

For people with a more limited dietary restrictions or who need additional assistance determining foods that fit their lifestyle, UTSA Dining provides friendly and supportive staff to help create individual dietary plans. For more information or assistance, reach out to UTSA Dining at (210) 458-6352 or Campus Services at (210) 458-7275.